Play Meter

UP FRONT
Pick the next 'Pac-Man'
Operators urged to participate
in Equipment Poll
Like any other business, Play Meter is constantly
seeking out ways to improve its product. At the recent
AOE show in Chicago, we received a lot of good
comments about Play Meter's semimonthly Equip-
ment Polls.
Our readers' ranking of the top earning games in
the country has become one of the most popular
sections of the magazine. Our goal now is to expand the
information gathered in our Equipment Poll and make
it even more useful. To do that, we are going to need
your help.
You will notice that I referred to the Equipment
Poll as " our readers' ranking of the top earning
games." I did so because that' s exactly what it is. Street
and arcade operators nationwide participate in our
Equipment Poll on a regular basis. They provide us with
information that is plugged into a standard formula
used to compute the results .
What we want to do now is gather more infor-
mation on more new games. We are presently getting a
sufficient amount of reliable information on games
produced by the major manufacturers. But we need
more information on the games produced by the
smaller manufacturers . The only way we are going to
be able to do that is by encouraging more of you out
there to participate in the poll on a regular basis.
We are now in the process of sending out Equip-
ment Poll forms to qualified operators on our mailing
list who are not already participating . To begin parti i-
pating in Play Meter's Equipment Poll , fill in your
return address on the postage-paid return envelope .
That will be the first and last time you will ever have to
identify yourself while participating in the poll. From
then on , you will receive an Equipment Poll form twice
each month. All we ask is that you take a few minutes to
fill out the form and return it to us as promptly as
possible.
8
Everybody has been waiting for the next Pac-Man
or Asteroids to come along and set this industry sailing
again. There 's no guarantee that the next hit game will
come from one of the major manufacturers. It' s quite
possible that it could come from one of the smaller
companies. And if it does, how are we all going to find
out about it? The only sure way is to keep track records
on as many games as possible as soon as they are
released. It could very well be that the next Pac-Man is
out there right now and nobody knows it yet!
When you get right down to it, it' s the players who
will decide when the next Pac-Man comes along.
Players don' t know big manufacturers from small
manufacturers . But they do know a good video game
from a bad one and that 's all that counts. What we in
this industry ne d to know is what games they ' re
playing and what games they' re not.
By in reasing the number of operators partiCI-
pating in the Equipment Poll , we hope to increase
information on games produced by the smaller manu-
facturers and be able to acquire more information on
more new game s. We hope you will accept our invita-
tion to join the Equipm nt Poll and participate on a
regular ba sis. We appreciate the help we get from our
readers with the Equipment Poll ea h month , and we
respect their willingne ss to share information . We are
proud to say that th eir individual efforts have con-
tributed to the good of all. We hope you ' ll join us .
Ralph C. Lally
Editor and Publisher
PlAY METER. May 1 5. 1983